This week, free-to-play conglomerate Nexon and newly founded This Game Studio announced a partnership to launch This Game Studio’s debut mobile title. This Game Studio, an independent game company, was founded in 2015 by game industry veterans such as Scott Blackwood, the mastermind behind the wildly successful Skate franchise. He also worked on numerous titles with EA, including Need for Speed.
Blackwood appeared to be very ecstatic about this deal with Nexon, saying:
“It’s not every day a developer and publisher see eye to eye on building a great game as their number one priority but Nexon is the exception to this rule.“
And he couldn’t have said it better.
The Friend Who Always Has Your Back
This partnership is the latest for Nexon, who has recently been attempting to revive small but popular studios and assist independent ones looking to launch their first titles. For those who don’t know the history of Nexon, it is a Korean game company that was one of the first game companies to dip its feet into online gameplay. The company was also a pioneer in designing the free-to-play game model that has become a big staple in the games industry today. Its most recognizable and successful title is MapleStory, which until its sequel came along in 2015, was online and serviced for over 12 years. Nexon has also helped other online games such as EVE Online and Counter-Strike Online in maintaining their servers.
The cooperation between Nexon and This Game Studio shows just how the relationship between developer and publisher can be a beautiful and symbiotic one. Both This Game Studio and Nexon have a lot to gain from this. Nexon is very much dedicated to finding success in the unknown and untested, they are happy to take many risks that other publishers would probably be hesitant to take. But they see a lot of potential from Blackwood’s studio and are excited about his creative direction.
I think we can all say that we excited about this too.
